Digital Boom

Author: Ahmed Wasfie

  • Top 7 Fintech Startups Revolutionizing Saudi Arabia’s Financial Landscape

    Top 7 Fintech Startups Revolutionizing Saudi Arabia’s Financial Landscape

    The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has rapidly emerged as a hub for fintech innovation in recent years, fueled by the country’s ambitious Vision 2030 plan and a supportive regulatory environment. As a result, numerous startups have burst onto the scene, leveraging cutting-edge technology to disrupt the financial services sector. In this article, we explore the top 7 fintech startups in Saudi Arabia that are reshaping the industry.

    Note: The order in which the fintech startups were listed doesn’t necessarily indicate a ranking from best to worst. Rather, the list aims to provide an overview of some of the most innovative and impactful fintech startups operating in Saudi Arabia, covering a diverse range of financial services and technologies. Each startup has its own unique strengths and focuses, catering to different segments of the market and offering various solutions. The order should be seen as a way to organize and present the information rather than a definitive ranking.

    1. Tamara

    Pioneering the buy now, pay later (BNPL) model in the Kingdom, Tamara enables customers to spread their purchases over interest-free installments. This innovative payment solution is helping to boost e-commerce and improve affordability for consumers.

    2. Geidea

    A leading payment technology provider, Geidea offers point-of-sale (POS) solutions, mobile payments, and e-commerce gateways. Their advanced infrastructure is accelerating the adoption of cashless payments throughout the country.

    3. Lendo

    Lendo is an innovative platform that connects borrowers with lenders, offering a digital alternative to traditional bank loans. By leveraging advanced algorithms and data-driven decision-making, Lendo is able to assess creditworthiness quickly and accurately, allowing users to access loans with competitive interest rates. The platform is also committed to promoting financial literacy, enabling borrowers to make informed decisions about their financial future.

    4. PayTabs

    PayTabs enables businesses to accept online payments through a suite of payment processing solutions. Their focus on security and fraud prevention has made them a trusted partner for merchants in the Kingdom.

    5. OneCard

    OneCard offers a unified digital card for various payment methods, including credit, debit, and prepaid cards. Their platform simplifies online transactions and allows users to manage their finances with ease.

    6. Raqamyah

    As one of the first peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms in the Kingdom, Raqamyah connects investors with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seeking financing. Their digital lending marketplace is fostering economic growth and empowering entrepreneurs.

    7. Manafa Capital

    MANAFA is an investment marketplace for businesses regulated by the Saudi Capital Market Authority.

  • BBC Presenter Confronts New Allegations Involving Explicit Photos

    BBC Presenter Confronts New Allegations Involving Explicit Photos

    An unnamed BBC presenter is currently under scrutiny following new allegations brought forth by the Sun newspaper. The publication claims that the presenter paid a teenager for sexually explicit photos.

    According to the Sun, the star was depicted in underwear, with the teenager’s mother stating, “ready for my child to perform for him.” The exact age of the teenager at the time remains unclear; however, the newspaper asserts that the payments from the presenter commenced when the individual was 17 years old.

    The BBC has emphasized its commitment to treating any allegations seriously. The Sun initially reported the allegations on Friday, asserting that the BBC presenter had paid £35,000 over a three-year period for explicit photos.

    The teenager’s mother informed the newspaper that her child, now 20 years old, had used the money received from the presenter to support a crack cocaine habit. The mother expressed concerns for her child’s well-being, stating that continued alleged payments would result in dire consequences.

    The Sun indicated that the teenager’s family filed a complaint with the BBC on May 19. Frustrated by the presenter’s ongoing presence on air, the family approached the newspaper. However, they stated that they did not seek payment for their story.

    In response to the allegations, a BBC spokesperson commented on Friday, “We take any allegations very seriously and have processes in place to proactively address them. If we receive information necessitating further investigation or examination, we will take appropriate steps to do so. This includes actively attempting to communicate with those who have contacted us, seeking additional details and understanding of the situation. While lack of response or further contact may limit our ability to proceed, it does not imply the cessation of our inquiries. If new information emerges or is provided, including through newspapers, we will act accordingly within our internal procedures.”

    Since the statement issued on Friday, the BBC has refrained from making additional remarks regarding the allegations. However, questions linger about the investigations conducted by the corporation following the family’s initial report.

    Caroline Dinenage, senior Conservative MP and chair of the Culture, Media and Sport committee, stressed the importance of TV companies establishing robust systems and processes to prevent the abuse of power and influence by their stars, who possess significant control over the lives and careers of others.

    Pressure mounts on the BBC’s HR department to conduct a swift investigation and shed light on the developments since the story was first brought to their attention in May. Priti Patel, former home secretary, labeled the BBC’s response as “derisory” and demanded a “full and transparent investigation.” She accused the corporation of transforming into a “faceless and unaccountable organization.”

    While the presenter is not scheduled to appear on air in the immediate future, it remains uncertain whether a formal suspension has been implemented, as BBC News has not received confirmation on the matter. The BBC must address whether such action should have been taken earlier, the thoroughness of the investigation, and the impact of baseless rumors on unconnected presenters.

    The Sun reports that a head of corporate investigations will conduct a probe, having already engaged in discussions with the family. However, the BBC has not verified this information.

    In response to the initial Sun report, several BBC presenters took to social media to deny their involvement in the allegations, including Rylan Clark, Jeremy Vine, Nicky Campbell, and Gary Lineker. This disconcerting period has affected them despite their lack of association with the allegations.

  • Egypt Criticizes Netflix for “Blackwashing” Cleopatra in Upcoming Docu-Series

    Egypt Criticizes Netflix for “Blackwashing” Cleopatra in Upcoming Docu-Series

    Egyptian experts are calling out Netflix’s decision to cast a bi-racial actor as Queen Cleopatra VII in its upcoming docu-series, “African Queens: Queen Cleopatra,” alleging that Netflix is “blackwashing” the historical figure. The controversy has prompted calls for Netflix to be banned from the country, and a petition has been launched to cancel the show, which has gathered thousands of signatures.

    Netflix’s “African Queens: Queen Cleopatra”

    The show, narrated and executive produced by Jada Pinkett Smith, stars Adele James, a bi-racial actor, in the role of Cleopatra. Pinkett Smith has explained that she wanted to be involved in the project because she “really wanted to represent Black women.”

    While Cleopatra’s specific race has been the subject of historical debate, Egyptian experts have criticized Netflix’s portrayal of the legendary queen, arguing that she was Greek and not black. Zahi Hawass, an Egyptologist, accused Netflix of spreading “false and deceptive facts that the origin of the Egyptian civilization is black.”

    Calls to Ban Netflix from Egypt

    Lawyer Mahmoud al-Semary has filed a complaint with the country’s public prosecutor, calling for Netflix to be blocked in Egypt. He alleges that Netflix promotes “Afrocentric thinking… aimed at distorting and erasing the Egyptian identity.”

    A petition to cancel the show, titled “Cancel Netflix’s ‘Queen Cleopatra,” has gathered more than 3,200 signatures on Change.org. Another petition that allegedly garnered 85,000 signatures was removed from the website.

    Netflix defends its casting decision

    Netflix has defended its casting decision, reminding viewers that in Cleopatra’s time, “Egypt’s population was multicultural and multiracial.” The streaming platform consulted its own Egyptologist, Sally-Ann Ashton, who argued that it was “strange” to depict Cleopatra as wholly European.

    The controversy has prompted further debate over the identity of Cleopatra, with some speculating that her mother and other female ancestors may have been indigenous to Africa.

    Premiere date

    The official trailer for the show has stirred up controversy, with comments on the YouTube video disabled. Despite the backlash, “African Queens: Queen Cleopatra” is set to premiere on Netflix on May 10.

  • How to Capture UTM Parameters in Webflow Forms?

    How to Capture UTM Parameters in Webflow Forms?

    Any sustainable business growth must identify which parts of the business strategy generate the best customers with a positive ROI to focus on the marketing channels that work and ditch those that don’t.

    Though if you can’t measure which marketing campaigns generate leads and customers, how will you know where to focus your time and resources?

    B2B and other businesses that rely on lead generation can easily measure marketing performance by tracking the UTM source of every lead in your CRM.

    This post demonstrates how to capture UTM parameters in Webflow Forms and send that data in the form fields to display them inside your CRM for reporting.

    Also read: how to reject non-business emails from Webflow form submissions?

    Capture and push UTM to any form in Webflow + store parameters in a cookie when users move from one page to another

    Copy-Paste Before body (Per page or entire website)

    The code structure:

    1. Get URL parameters.
    2. Get Webflow form elements by jquery class selector and set the value to this UTM param X.
    3. It’s useful to store UTM params inside a cookie (To keep the UTM also if the user goes from page X to Y).
    <!-- https://github.com/js-cookie/js-cookie -->
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/js-cookie@2/src/js.cookie.min.js"></script>

<!-- tribal code -->
<script>
const my_utmParameters = [
"utm_source",
"utm_medium",
"utm_campaign"
];

function getAllUrlParams(url) {
let obj = Object.fromEntries(new URLSearchParams(location.search));
return obj;
}
/* Check if Lead Cookie already exist */
var cookieExist = Cookies.get('Lead'); // => if false return undefined
/* get URL params object */
var getAllUrlParams = getAllUrlParams(); // return object
/*Convert a JavaScript object into a string */
var getAllUrlParamsJSON = JSON.stringify(getAllUrlParams);
/* Check if the url with utm_parameters */
let isEmpty = jQuery.isEmptyObject(getAllUrlParams); // return true/false

/* Case 1 - if the page with parameters & no cockie exsist */
if(!isEmpty && cookieExist === undefined){
/* Set lead object for the cockies */
console.log("Case 1 - parameters & no cockie exsist => Create Cockie");
/*
## Set Cookies ##
expires: If omitted, the cookie becomes a session cookie (This example)
*/
createLead();
setUTMformValues();
}/*end if*/

let compare = is_this_utm_equal_to_cockie_utm_values();

if(!isEmpty && cookieExist !== undefined){
/* it this utm params diff from current lead values create new lead*/
if(!compare){
/* Case 3 - cockie already exsist but with diff values Vs url utm parmas
(remove current Lead and generate new one)
*/
console.log("Case 3 - lead Exist, but with diff parames");
Cookies.remove('Lead');
createLead();
setUTMformValues();
}else{
console.log("Case 2 - lead exsist with this params");
setUTMformValues();
}
}

/* Case 4 - cookie Exist but page without any utm param */
if(isEmpty && cookieExist !== undefined){
console.log("Case 4 - cookie Exist but page without any utm param");
setUTMformValues();
}

function createLead(){
var lead = {
parameters: getAllUrlParams
};
/* if you want to add 2 days expires for example:
Cookies.set('Lead', 'lead', { expires: 2})
*/
Cookies.set('Lead', lead, { });
}

/* check if this utm url equal to the current values of cockie lead */
function is_this_utm_equal_to_cockie_utm_values(){
for (const this_utm_element of my_utmParameters) {
/* if utm_source exist */
let value_exsist = JSON.parse(cookieExist).parameters[this_utm_element] == getAllUrlParams[this_utm_element];
//console.log(`${value_exsist} - ${JSON.parse(cookieExist).parameters[this_utm_element]} compare to: ${getAllUrlParams[this_utm_element]}`);
if(value_exsist == false){
return false;
}
}/* end for loop */
return true;
}

function setUTMformValues(){
/* webflow form object (Add embed code under webflow designer inside FORM */
/*
<input type="text" class="utm_source" placeholder="utm_source" name="utm_source">
<input type="text" class="utm_medium" placeholder="utm_medium" name="utm_medium">
<input type="text" class="utm_campaign" placeholder="utm_campaign" name="utm_campaign">
*/
/* the value if the param is empty */
const empty_param_case = "null";
/* set feilds */
for (const this_utm_element of my_utmParameters) {
/* if utm_source exist */
set_utm_feild(this_utm_element);
}/* end for loop */

/* inner function */
function set_utm_feild(utm_type){
let utm_value = JSON.parse(Cookies.get('Lead')).parameters[utm_type];
let utm_nodes = document.getElementsByClassName(utm_type);
/* change all utm form feilds */
if(utm_nodes.length > 0){
for(var i = 0; i < utm_nodes.length; i++)
{
if(!!utm_value && utm_value !== undefined){
utm_nodes[i].value = utm_value;
}
else{
/* empty param for example ?utm_campaign= or ?utm_campaign */
utm_nodes[i].value = empty_param_case;
}
}/* end for */
}/* end if */
}// end inner set_utm_feild function */
}
</script>

     

    Populate UTM parameters in a hidden field inside the form

    To do that, insert an embed element inside the form, then add the following javascript code.

    <code class="EnlighterJSRAW" data-enlighter-language="generic"><script></script> <input type="hidden" class="utm_source" placeholder="utm_source" name="utm_source"> <input type="hidden" class="utm_medium" placeholder="utm_medium" name="utm_medium"> <input type="hidden" class="utm_campaign" placeholder="utm_campaign" name="utm_campaign">

    You can repeat the second step in any form across your website, and you will receive UTM parameters from your marketing campaigns or affiliate links inside your form submissions.

    Credit: Siton_Systems

  • Nagaty announces departure from Halan as CBO

    Nagaty announces departure from Halan as CBO

    Mohamed (Nagaty) Aboulnaga, one of Halan ‘s team of co-founders and its Chief Business Officer announced that today, January 31st, 2021 was his “last working day as an executive/ Chief Business Officer” in the ride-hailing startup.

    Nagaty is one of the founding members of the startup along with Mounir Nakla, CEO, and Ahmed Mohsen, CTO. He has announced both are remaining in management.

    Halan hails itself as Egypt’s First Super App with 5 million downloads and a whole array of everyday needs offered to consumers and businesses from on-demand ride-hailing and on-demand logistics to peer-to-peer delivery and e-commerce solutions and smart-tech last-mile delivery.

    In his brief announcement on LinkedIn, Nagaty said that the decision to leave Halan was “based on a personal interest of starting a new startup.” and that he” will remain a shareholder and will become an advisor to the company going forward.”

    Nagaty celebrated the company’s many successes mentioning “100M requests, launching 5 services in 3 countries” and hailing these milestones as  “The first building block in assembling Africa’s Tech-Decacorn.”

    Many well wishes to Nagaty and we can’t wait for what is up his sleeve in his exciting new endeavor.

  • Top Jordanian Resin Artists to Follow on Instagram

    Top Jordanian Resin Artists to Follow on Instagram

    Resin art in Jordan has evolved during the covid-19 lockdown – and, in some instances, even global standards.

    Today, many Jordanian women have started a challenge to showcase the best Resin art trends from the Land of the Petra.

    Resin art topped online business ideas and became one of the most popular rising online businesses among women in Jordan. The covid-19 lockdown brought more women to unlock their untapped potentials.

    That said, Resin art is available to anyone who follows the right skills. These women are rising to the challenge in every aspect of taste couture. In this, they direct theirs toward new trends bot in the design world and their social and professional lives.

    Jordan’s Resin trends have also swept over to other aspects of modern, empowered living. Some artists work their magic in the MENA region and beyond by encouraging women everywhere to explore beyond their borders.

    So, who are these Resin icons from the Land that gave us Queen Rania? What contributions are they making? Consider the list below:

    Yasmeen’s Resin Art

    If you are a gold lover, visit Yasmeen’s Instagram account. She has various gold resin designs, such as coasters, name holders for offices, sweets, and chocolate hostesses, Arabic calligraphy frames, cheese plates, and more.

    Resin art by yasmeen
    Resin art by Yasmeen

    Rita’s Resin Art

    Elegance and creative ideas are what differentiate Rita.

    Ritas Resin jordan
    Ritas Resin

    Heba’s Resin Art

    Fresh colors in the feed. Heba focuses on decorative pieces; check out her profile to refresh your home decor with some new ideas and colors.

    Heba resin
    Heba’s Resin art

    Noura Resin Art

    In&out sea-inspired resin designs.

    Noura Resin Art
    Noura Resin Art

    Soul Designs Jordan

    Nature-inspired resin design.

    soul designs jordan
    soul designs Jordan
  • What are most common issues that HR deal with?

    What are most common issues that HR deal with?

    Human resources. Suppose you’ve worked in an office before you may know them as the people who deal with the payroll or the employment recruitment drives. In reality, however, they do all that and so much more.

    Most businesses would struggle to function without their HR departments, which is why companies of all sizes need to understand the most common issues that they may be facing. That way, they can provide their HR departments with the support and technology that they need to succeed – you’ll find more information on the latest HR software for marketing teams here, just click the link.

    Here we’ll explore the most common issues that an HR department has to deal with:

    1. Health and safety

    It’s a topic very few of us are interested in, in fact, most office meetings about health and safety regulations are usually met with groans and wide yawns. However, if you’re an HR representative then it’s more than just dull legislation. Not only does HR have to create, document and regulate health and safety in the workplace, they also have to present their efforts to the rest of the company and (crucially) deliver it successfully.

    Keeping the workforce safe and engaged in the importance of health and safety isn’t easy!

    2. Discrimination

    Sadly, in some workplaces, discrimination is still a problem. Using the law and their knowledge as guidance, HR reps can advise and provide company policies that reflect the company’s standpoint on discrimination in the workplace. These kinds of documents protect the company and any employees who feel they may have been discriminated against.

    HR reps will also handle any incidents involving discrimination and ensure everything is properly documented, calling upon their good organisational skills and their knowledge of company policy.

    3. Disciplinary action

    When something has gone wrong in the workplace, it’s HR’s job to ensure that both sides of the issue are dealt with accordingly. This means following strict disciplinary guidelines and company procedures as well as full documentation of everything that is said and done throughout the process.

    Disciplinaries can sometimes prove to be long, drawn-out processes – this is why good filing systems and organisation are crucial for HR workers.

    4. Recruitment

    Without this, HR businesses would struggle to find the right kind of employees to help propel the company forward. Finding the right candidates isn’t easy, so it’s HRs responsibility to search for talent in all the right places. Whether that’s networking through social media, headhunting at industry events or even incentivising current employees to help.

    Once the right candidates have been found, HR then has to create a stringent recruitment process as well as implanting training and ongoing support for new starters.

    5. And finally, payroll

    If no one gets paid, then businesses would fold fast. Another task that HR has to juggle is the payroll system. This isn’t just a case of getting everyone their pay-packet on time, it’s also ensuring they’re being paid the right amount, and that annual leave or sick days are being taken into account, that benefits are being implemented, bonuses are correct, and any deduction, and are also performed.

    It’s hard work, but luckily you have your HR department to take care of it all for you!